When life gives you cucumbers, make Quick and Easy Cucumber Kimchi!
A good friend of mine has an incredible green thumb! I am so fortunate to often be on the receiving end of that green thumb. The other day, she kindly brought me some amazing home grown cucumbers, chives, peppers, and perilla (sesame) leaves, which are all perfect for Korean banchan. So I’m so excited to be making some awesome Korean side dishes over the next few days!
Cucumber kimchi couldn’t be easier to make. Simple prep of a few ingredients, and a gentle mixing of everything by hand and voila! You have a delicious side dish in absolutely no time at all.
The ingredients for the pepper paste/sauce include garlic, ginger, sugar, water, Korean red pepper powder (gochugaru), fish sauce, and rice vinegar. The gochugaru is an essential ingredient in Korean cooking. You can get that here on Amazon.
This kimchi can be eaten immediately, however I think it tastes better about a day after so there’s time to let the flavors infuse.
Serve with rice, or as a side to any meal to spice it up!
If you like banchan or kimchi, you may also like these recipes:
1,000 Foods to Eat Project
Kimchi is one of the foods listed in the book 1,000 Foods To Eat Before You Die, by Mimi Sheraton. I’m on a quest to try each and every one of these foods. I’d be honored if you would join me in this journey and discover new foods, experiences, and cuisines which I hope will add inspiration, fun, and joy to your life! For a list of the foods tried so far visit the 1,000 Foods to Eat Project page.
If you’d like to follow along and be a part of the 1,000 Foods Project, please sign up to get the latest recipes and inspiration for you to expand your food comfort zone! It’s an incredible journey, please join me by signing up here. 🙂
Enjoy this taste of Korea!
Quick and Easy Cucumber Kimchi
Ingredients
- 1 large cucumber or 2 small
- 1/2 tbsp coarse Kosher salt
- 1 oz chives or 3 scallions, chopped into largish sizes
- 1/2 onion thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp Korean red pepper powder reduce to 1 tbsp if you don't like it too spicy
- 1 inch ginger minced
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tbsp water
- 1 ts sugar
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
Instructions
- Cut your cucumber in half lengthwise and deseed it. Then cut into large chunks as per the image.
- Place the cut up cucumber in a colander and sprinkle the salt. Leave at room temperature for 30 minutes (some water will drain off the cucumbers so you may want to leave the colander in the sink.)
- Mince the ginger and garlic in a food processor. Add to a large mixing bowl, along with the Korean red pepper powder, fish sauce, sugar, water, and rice vinegar. Mix with a spoon.
- After the 30 minutes, rinse the cucumber pieces under running water, to get rid of the salt. Add these along with the chives (or scallions) and onion to the spice mixture, and mix gently with your hands until all the ingredients are combined.
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